Jul 23 2019 Mark 4:21-34

With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it; he did not speak to them except in parables; With many such parables he spoke the word to them, as they were able to hear it; but he explained everything in private to his disciples.

Slowly, slowly, I’m finding value in parables, or the mystery contained in them. I was raised by two very wise, and very concrete thinkers. My mom was incredibly practical, and as far as I remember, pretty transparent. She said what she thought, and thought clearly. Likewise, my dad was very smart and transparent. An engineer, his flaw would have been to over-explain things, just to be sure you understood. As my mom used to say, “ask your dad what time it is, and he’ll tell you how to build a clock”.

I was raised with two models of transparent, clear, direct thinking and communication. There wasn’t a lot of wonder, or speculation. My parents knew a lot. Like Jesus to the disciples, they explained everything to us.

My parents were good people with integrity and clear communication, two traits I have in strength. Some might say too much of a good thing…. But what I lacked growing up was space and skills for that wonder that comes from a good parable. It’s so much easier if someone just explains things; it’s what I’ve always known.

Now, sitting with parables and Scripture, I’m gaining some appreciation for the vagaries of parables. There’s more room for thinking, and coming up with explanations and having the ‘aha moments’ that come from deep within me.

I used to think that when Jesus talked to everyone in parables, but explained everything to his disciples was because he was trying to be vague and garbled with everyone, but to his favorites – the disciples, he’d be clear. I’m wondering now if he had to explain things to his disciples because they didn’t have or couldn’t take the space to wrestle with the parables. Or maybe he needed to be sure they got the point. In any case, now I think it wasn’t necessarily a positive thing, that he explained everything to the disciples.

The parable that precedes this explanation of Jesus’ methods is the parable of the man who puts out seed at night and it grows but the man doesn’t know how. And after the Earth produces of itself, the man goes back and cuts the whole plant down, because it’s harvest has come.

This one little parable has so much that I can think of this morning. Man throws seed into the unknown. Earth’s abundant life-giving resources. Things grow for unknown invisible reasons. Man plants then destroys. Repeat. Each one of these could be the theme of an entire sermon or book. And I’m sure on another day, I could come up with others themes or lessons.

To have this parable ‘explained’ to me would constrain its meaning to today’s explanation. As it is, some portion of the parable resonates today, and another part resonates tomorrow.

This morning, I’m thinking about all those places where I don’t have explanations. Where that lack of precision is both frustrating and freeing. I want to continue to embrace those unknowns, and wrestle with them. With the Holy Spirit’s guidance, I’ll learn and grow in that space, based on what I need to see and understand today.